Oral malodor, also referred to as halitosis or bad breath, is a common and undesirable condition for many people. A major source of bad breath in healthy people is the presence of anaerobic bacteria on the tongue. Such bacteria can accumulate between the papillae of the tongue's surface and can produce volatile sulfur compounds that can lead to bad breath.
A regimen of good oral hygiene often includes the removal of oral bacteria, as a means of controlling, if not eliminating, bacteria which causes bad breath. Oral care rinse products are developed with active ingredients that can kill and wash away the offending bacteria. However, consumers find it hard to understand the effectiveness of oral care rinse products because they cannot see the chemical removal of bacteria with the naked eye. It is challenging to communicate to consumers what happens at the microscopic level in the mouth in a way that is easy to visualize and understand.
As such, there remains a need for a physical representation of bacteria removal from the tongue to demonstrate the efficacy of oral care rinse products and encourage the use of such products.